that was to pay for the last debt ceiling increase, let alone any future increases. we're not interested in shutting government down. what happens on march 1, spending goes down automatically. march 27th is when the moment you're talking about, the continuing resolution expires. we are more than happy to keep spending at those levels going on into the future while we debate how to balance the budget, how to grow the economy, how to create economic opportunity. >> all right. now let's put this in context and think about what congressman ryan from wisconsin is really saying. republicans backed off their debt limit threat because they knew it was a political loser. and now they seem to be backing off their threat to shut down the government. sequester? well, that's another matter. if congress does nothing, the cuts take effect. republicans don't want defense cuts, but they might be willing to stomach those cuts because domestic programs would also get slashed, including medicare. and that's what republicans really want. let's turn to barney frank, former massachusetts c